Fay Weldon (1931–2023)
Author of The Life and Loves of a She Devil
About the Author
Fay Weldon was born in Worcester, England on September 22, 1931. She read economics and psychology at the University of St. Andrews. She worked as a propaganda writer for the British Foreign Office and then as an advertising copywriter for various firms in London before making writing a full-time show more career. Her work includes over twenty novels, five collections of short stories, several children's books, non-fiction books, and a number of plays written for television, radio and the stage. Her collections of short stories include Mischief and Nothing to Wear and Nowhere to Hide. She wrote a memoir entitled Auto Da Fay and non-fiction book entitled What Makes Women Happy. She wrote the pilot episode for the television series Upstairs Downstairs. Her first novel, The Fat Woman's Joke, was published in 1967. Her other novels include Praxis, The Life and Loves of a She-Devil, Puffball, Rhode Island Blues, Mantrapped, She May Not Leave, The Spa Decameron, Habits of the House, Long Live the King, and The New Countess. Wicked Women won the PEN/Macmillan Silver Pen Award. She was awarded a CBE in 2001. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Works by Fay Weldon
A Good Sound Marriage [short story] 4 copies
Weekend 2 copies
Madame Bovary: Breakfast With Emma 2 copies
Was Frauen glücklich macht 1 copy
Memoiren eines Teufelsweibes 1 copy
Polaris: And Other Stories 1 copy
HLe Iamiche del cuore 1 copy
Mixed Doubles (AYCKBOURN) 1 copy
Upstairs, Downstairs: Second Season - Volume II [TV series, 1972] — Writer — 1 copy
Οι κυρίες φορούν BVLGARI 1 copy
Upstairs Downstairs: First Season - Volume I [TV series, 1971] — Writer — 1 copy
Associated Works
A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen (2009) — Contributor — 367 copies
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Women Writers Explore Their Favorite Fairy Tales (1998) — Contributor — 298 copies
Bram Stoker's Dracula Omnibus: Dracula/the Lair of the White Worm/Dracula's Guest (1992) — Introduction — 91 copies
Take My Advice: Letters to the Next Generation from People Who Know a Thing or Two (2002) — Contributor — 44 copies
The Cloning Of Joanna May [1992 TV mini series] — Original book — 1 copy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Birkinshaw, Franklin
- Other names
- Birkinshaw, Franklin (birth name)
- Birthdate
- 1931-09-22
- Date of death
- 2023-01-04
- Gender
- female
- Nationality
- UK
- Country (for map)
- England, UK
- Birthplace
- Alvechurch, Worcestershire, England, UK
- Place of death
- Northampton, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Auckland, New Zealand
London, England, UK
Dorset, England, UK
Coromandel, New Zealand - Education
- University of St Andrews (MA|1952)
- Occupations
- advertising copywriter
novelist
short story writer
essayist
university professor
playwright - Relationships
- Jepson, Margaret (mother)
Jepson, Edgar (grandfather) - Organizations
- Brunel University
The Savoy Hotel, London
Ogilvy, Benson & Mather
Crawford's Advertising Agency
British Foreign Office
Bath Spa University - Awards and honors
- Commander, Order of the British Empire (2001)
Fellow, Royal Society of Literature (1986) - Short biography
- Fay Weldon's body of work includes more than 20 novels, five collections of short stories, several children's books, non-fiction books, magazine articles and a number of plays written for television, radio and the stage (including the pilot episode of the hit TV series Upstairs Downstairs). Her fiction, much of which is satiric in tone, often focuses on women and gives voice to their inner thoughts and feelings. She married Roy Weldon in 1962 (they later divorced) and the couple had three sons in addition to Fay's older child. After a successful career in advertising, she began writing fiction and published her first novel in 1967.
Members
Reviews
The life and loves of a She-devil by Fay Weldon
Re-read - a dark, funny, fable of revenge, and what it means to be a woman, what happens if someone who's always played by the rules (good wife, good mother, good woman) is given permission to break every rule in the book, and what they do with the power this brings! Fay Weldon writes brilliantly and whilst the setting may have dated a little the tensions in sex and gender relations remain.
I unearthed this gem from the opaque pile on my bedside table—I believe it was a gift, probably last Christmas. The cover bears a sticker reading “ if you liked Downton Abbey, you’ll love this!” And it was true, I did love it. I don’t think I’ve read a Fay Weldon novel since The life and loves of a she-devil, which was probably back in the ‘90s, and couldn’t be more different. As it happens I do love Downton Abbey, and I did appreciate the similarities. This is a sort of parlour drama, a novel of the English upper classes at the turn of the 20th century. The Earl of Dilberne is a bit of a gambler and playboy, who has managed to fritter away a couple of significant fortunes. He and his wife the countess have designs on an American heiress, whose fortune could save their family, if they can match her with their son (who is also a layabout and spoiled playboy). Short, concise chapters allow the action to unfold almost day by day, and give interesting insights not only into the minds of the family, but also their servants, as well as tidbits that illuminate the state of the world in general (steam cars and sulfurous fog...?) I think I read that Weldon was actually involved with the creation of the original PBS series Upstairs Downstairs, and she certainly has a way of telling stories of the English social classes. I will plunge happily and directly into the next installment.… (more)
I began reading this right after I finished book one, Habits of the house. This story begins about a year after that first one ends, so things have shifted somewhat in the world of the Dilbernes. This book traces the continuing story of Lord Dilberne and his family -- wife Isobel, hovering around the royals as they prepare for the coronation; son Arthur and his wife Minnie, preparing for the arrival of their first baby; and daughter Rosina, continuing to exercise her unfashionable intellect, delving into theosophy. It also introduces Adela, daughter of his Lordship's estranged brother, whose tiny, sheltered life is turned upside-down by tragedy, and finds herself swept up into the powers of the persuasive, and wholly without the natural reserves of understanding and world-wisdom to resist. The two stories inch toward each other (enticingly) throughout this novel with sometimes-frustrating speed (or lack thereof), with a sense of inevitability, but also a thread of doubt. Fay Weldon continues to weave a portrait of English high society at the end of the Victorian era, the edge of modernity, the polite conflicts between the aristocracy and the working class, and every character embodies some aspect of that social construct. Fascinating and entertaining! I want to dive back in and finish the trilogy immediately, but my library holds are piling up. I look forward to seeing how the story ends.… (more)
The conclusion to this trilogy was as irresistibly readable as the previous volumes. The hijinx of the high-born continue as Arthur and Minnie’s happy marriage settles in and devolves into a morass as the husband and wife are frustrated by their cultural expectations and limitations, and their lack of communication culminates in a dramatic act that nearly tears the family apart. The Earl and Countess prepare for a visit from royalty, with all the fuss and bother that can be expected of such an honour. And Rosina returns from Australia and steps right back into her life of intellect, verging on the bohemian. As with the previous books, the title only hints at the substance, and its significance is only revealed toward the very end, in which the climax and denouement occur in rapid succession after such a long, slow buildup, I didn’t even realize that’s what I was reading. It is a smart and charming story.… (more)
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